Parshas Pahra

By Nosson Chayim Leff

Sfas Emes, Zechuso Tagein Aleinu, Parshas Pahra, 5631

This week, in addition to our regular Torah portion, we read a special
selection (Bemidbar, 19:1-22). The text that we read deals with the
process by which a person who is tamei (ritually impure) can become
tahor (ritually pure). What is the reason for this Torah reading at
this time? Apparently, to set in motion the following sequence:

First, to make us aware that Pesach is coming. Accordingly, we should
get ready to celebrate the Yom Tov properly. "Properly" includes
being ready to bring the Korban Pesach (the special offering that all
of our people would bring on Pesach). Unfortunately, if we do a din
vecheshbon (a self-examination) of our state of readiness, we will
recognize that we are ritually impure. With this awareness, we are
seized by the excitement of undergoing the purification process that
HaShem has provided to make the leap from tum'ah (impurity) to tahara
(ritual purity). This process has a name; it is called 'Pahra Aduma'
(the red heifer). A key feature of the ritual involved sprinkling the
person who was tamei with water that contained the ashes obtained from
burning the body of a red heifer. We can readily imagine the
excitement and joy that came with this experience, actual and
anticipated. All of this was triggered by the knowledge brought home
by the fact that this was Parshas Pahra!

As we have come to expect, the Sfas Emes begins his discussion of the
topic by drawing on some thoughts of his grandfather. But before we
start with the ma'amar itself, here is some background material.

There are various kinds of tum'ah. Which one are we dealing with
here? The fact that to shed this tum'ah, we have to use the Pahra
Aduma -- the most powerful purification process available -- indicates
that we are dealing with the heaviest kind of tum'ah: the tumah that
comes from having contact with a meis (a dead person).

The Chidushei HaRim asked: Who is this meis with whom we have had
contact -- and whose contact makes us ritually impure and therefore,
unable to bring the Korban Pesach? The Chiddushei HaRim answered: The
dead person is -- ourselves! That is, the Pahra Aduma is metaheir
(purifies) a person who has had contact with death. Such a person has
lost the internal vibrancy that comes from feeling the presence of
HaShem. And having lost that internal vibrancy, the person must
undergo a process of ritual purification.

R. Shimshon Rafael Hirsch (in his commentary on Bemidbar, 19:1-22) can
help us understand what is going on here. R. Hirsch explains that
HaShem wants us to live our lives as His people as an act of freely
willed affirmation, not out of passivity or resignation. However, when
a person comes into contact with death, he may be impressed with the
apparent overwhelming power of nature. Indeed, he may be so struck by
the inevitability and inescapability of death that, in effect, he
despairs and loses his free will. Loss of his free will, in turn,
means losing his capacity for affirming the autonomy in his
relationship with HaShem. A person in that state cannot connect with
kedusha -- e.g., by entering the Beis Ha'mikdash and bringing a
korban.

(Note: R. Hirsch explains why a person becomes a te'mei meis. The
Chiddushei HaRim, on the other hand, explains what a te'mei meis is: A
person who is deadened because he has lost contact with HaShem.)

What can a person in that state do to enable himself to regain access
to kedusha and tahara? The Torah tells him to undergo the purification
process of Pahra Aduma. How does that process work? To address this
question, the Chiddushei HaRim -- and the Sfas Emes -- are drawn to an
allusion conveyed by the word "eifer" -- ashes. As noted, the
purification process includes sprinkling the person who is ta'mei with
water mixed together with the ashes -- in lashon hakodesh, the eifer
-- of the burnt pahra aduma.

Mention of the word "eifer" calls to mind a posuk in Bereishis
(18:27). In that posuk, Avraham Avinu refers to himself as "ahfar
vo'eifer" -- i.e., earth and ashes. The allusion is clear. The Pahra
Aduma purification process is urging the person who is tamei to view
himself with proper perspective, that is, with humility. Cutting back
on one's Ego is necessary to renew one's inner vibrancy and
relationship with HaShem.

The Sfas Emes moves on, quoting the first Medrash Rabbah of Parshas
Chukas (the Torah parsha which presents the laws of the Pahra
Aduma). That Medrash, in turn, cites a posuk in Iyov (14:4): "Mi
yitein tahor mitamei ... ?" ("Who can transform something tamei into
something tahor?") Such a transformation is truly "supernatural" --
i.e., above the laws of nature. For nature (and common sense) would
dictate that something that is tamei would stay tamei. Thus, this
Medrash is expressing amazement at the whole phenomenon of
transforming tum'ah into tahara.

The Medrash continues, applying the posuk just quoted from Iyov -- and
the reality that it captures -- to a real-world example. The example
cited is the case of Avraham Avinu. For, reflect on it. Is it not
amazing that an Avraham could emerge from a father like Terach? The
Medrash responds to its question ("Who ... ?"): Only HaShem, Yechido
Shel Olam ("The Singular One in the Entire World"), could create a
world in which such a transformation is possible. The message is
clear. We should regard the whole phenomenon of spiritual and ritual
purification with awe and with gratitude.